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Monday, 29 June 2015

Oh! Boy! It has been quite awhile since I found myself a book boyfriend. Thankfully I have completely fell in love again and found one worthy of My Book Boyfriend Status . The honors this week go to Carson 'Joker' Steel of the Chaos MC from Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley

How did Joker win my heart? It's easy ...

He's a survivor

Even though he had a bad upbringing he still learned to love. And love did he do.

He's a brother. Which makes him loyal. And loyal he is. To his brothers, his friends, his pseudo family and of course Carissa & Travis

Some of the reasons I love Joker :

All quotes and phrases from eARC of Ride Steady by Kristen Ashley courtesy of Forever via NetGalley.

The ride of her life . . . Once
upon a time, Carissa Teodoro believed in happy endings. Money,
marriage, motherhood: everything came easy---until she woke up to the
ugly truth about her Prince Charming. Now a struggling, single mom and
stranded by a flat tire, Carissa's pondering her mistakes when a vaguely
familiar knight rides to her rescue on a ton of horsepower.

Climb on and hold tight . . . In
high school, Carson Steele was a bad boy loner who put Carissa on a
pedestal where she stayed far beyond his reach. Today, he's the
hard-bodied biker known only as Joker, and from the way Carissa's
acting, it's clear she's falling fast. While catching her is
irresistible, knowing what to do with her is a different story. A good
girl like Carissa is the least likely fit with the Chaos Motorcycle
Club. Too bad holding back is so damned hard. Now, as Joker's secrets
are revealed and an outside threat endangers the club, Joker must decide
whether to ride steady with Carissa---or ride away forever . . .

It
has been so long since I have completely LOVED a book. And of course
it was another Kristen Ashley book which I'm not surprised, as she's
ALWAYS my go to author when I want something more from a book. I always
know what I'm going to expect from her books, and she rarely
disappoints me. She has a gift a writing amazing bad ass alpha men with
minimal dialogue, but oh boy when the do speak its always a doozie that
warms your heart. Well sometimes they have asshole moments but that
always ends up being part of their charm. Not only do we get amazing
men but we also get kick ass females who are strong. They aren't weak
and whiny. (Thank god!) And with this series we also get the MC which
takes it up another notch in my world, as I'm a complete sucker for that
genre. There's just something about that dark gritty MC world and the
women that tame them or help balance their dark with light.

Carson Steele has had a shit life but has always loved Carissa Teodoro. Even though throughout high school she didn't know he even existed.

Carissa
Teodoro may have been in a relationship and had 'friends' but she
always wanted more. She had always crushed on Carson Steele but was sad
that he never noticed her. She too has had a tough past with the loss
of her mother and sister but she's has always dreamed of something
bigger. After a brief interlude before graduation they have a moment with hope of something more .

"Okay, Carson," she said softly, "Go after you beautiful Life."

Now
7 years later and both of them didn't get their HEA. Carissa's steal
reeling after her nasty divorce but the only thing that matters to her,
is her son Travis. While Carson's now 'Joker' and for the first time
feels like he has a family with his MC brothers of Chaos. Joker loves
this new life but hasn't taken advantage of all there is being a part of
Chaos.

Carissa
is down on her luck on the side of the road until a gorgeous biker
steps up to help her. Not only is he good with cars, he's good with
her son. This biker however seems familiar to her but she can't figure
out why. Joker knew the minute he pulled over that it was Carissa that
he was helping out. But since she didn't recognize him, he chose not
to tell her the truth.

"
. . . Thought you had secrets. Way you're holdin' back with this girl,
think I'm wrong. You don't have secrets. You got demons."

Now that Carissa is free in clear
and drawn to Joker, she makes it known that she wants more. However,
she keeps coming up to a brick wall that is Joker. Thankfully all that
are Chaos and everyone associated with them also see the goodness in
Carissa and the potential of what could be with Joker. So they take her
and Travis under their wings and make them part of their family. Until
Joker gets his head out of his ass and claims what is rightly his. His
past made him think he doesn't deserve someone like Carissa and
Travis. Thankfully there were good moments of his past that are now
becoming part of his present, making him realize that he's so much more
worth then he ever realized. With this new found feelings he finally
gives in to Carissa and makes his play.

"Figure
your father didn't give you this so I will. A man is defined many
ways. One of those is the woman he picks to be at his side."

I absolutely loved Joker and
Carissa together. They were perfect. They were a complete balance to
each other with all their strengths and weaknesses. Now add Tack,
Cherry, Tab, Shy, Lanie, Hop, the rest of Chaos, some of the Nightingales, Mitch, Brock, Hawk and more and we get a perfect KA experience.

I
LOVED this book. The only nitpick I have is that Carissa didn't
recognize Joker for such a long time. Sure I get her reasons of why,
but everyone else recognized him and yet she was the only one who had a
crush on him for years, so if you think anyone would recognize him it
would be her. Other than that it was amazing and exactly what I
needed. Lately, since I read so much I'm getting bored and frustrated
with same recurring theme occurring in the romance genre. So when an
author can break that mold I'm freakin' thrilled.

"No,
you feel it, you share it. Don't hold back with me, Butterfly." That
was good advice. Good advice for a relationship two people were
building. (Phew! Good advice Joker. We almost had another heroine not communicate and assume again. )

As
with all KA books we know that
Joker and Carissa aren't going to have an easy ride but they have a
beautiful one. As Joker starts to become more human again, we fall
deeper and deeper in love with him. We knew there was something hidden
within him but what comes out was pure joy the way he grows and becomes
the man he has always wanted to be. With the help of his new family,
Chaos, Carissa and Travis he becomes the one thing he never thought was
possible ... happy.

" . . . But I know this and you gotta know it too: No matter what happens, I will never, not ever, not fuckin' ever,
Carissa, regret riding down that shoulder to help you and your boy.
It's the best decision I ever made in my life, and I know that in a way I
know I'll feel that until the day I fuckin' die."

Loved it! I absolutely love this series and all things KA. I can't wait for more from this series and anything KA.

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